


Grey

by Wayward_Weary_butWonderfilled



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Colorblind Soulmate AU, M/M, The first chapter is hella angst, but after that it gets better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-21 07:42:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9538301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wayward_Weary_butWonderfilled/pseuds/Wayward_Weary_butWonderfilled
Summary: A perfectly bright, average day all begins to change when the colors fade away.





	1. Dark

**Author's Note:**

> So, the first chapter is pure angst. But just you wait. It gets better. I promise its not this painful the whole time.

It's an average day in the Winchester household. Gabe is at work, well--Sam glances at the time--actually, on his way home from work. He should be home any time now. 

 

Sam has decided to make a baking attempt. Note, the key word here is attempt. He's never been great at baking anything, especially anything that involves sweets of some sort. He can cook, decently enough. But Gabe usually does more of the baking. 

 

Speaking of Gabe. 

 

Usually he was home by now. 

 

Sam blinked. 

 

There was a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something wasn't quite right. 

 

That was when Sam noticed that the sky seemed overcast. The room was getting darker. What? It was the middle of summer in the middle of California, and they were slated to have clear skies for the whole week. 

 

It kept getting darker. Greyed. 

 

Suddenly a flicker of panic ran through him as he realized what was actually happening. The colors were bleeding away, like a watercolor painting in the rain. Slowly being washed away, being drained from his world, just like—

 

“Gabe!” the yelp escaped his lips before he even had a chance to think, and he was scrambling for his phone. His fingers fumbled over the buttons as he dialed his husbands phone number and listened to it ring.  And ring. And ring. 

 

_ Gabriel Winchester here, I'm probably too busy fu— _

 

_ “ _ Answer the damn phone!” Sam growled, resisting the urge to throw the device across the room as tears pricked the backs of his eyes. "Please." He choked on the word, fighting back a wave of fear and pain and a dark sense of knowing. Stay calm. Stay calm. 

 

He kept trying to tell himself that, but he heard it in Gabe's voice, could almost feel the gentle hand on his shoulder, soothing, and—

 

“No, no, no, NO!” He screamed, as he looked around at their kitchen and realized he could no longer see the vibrant greens and splashes of red on their towels hanging over the counter next to the drying pots and pans that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher. All of it. Shades of black and white and grey. Not a blue or a violet or a yellow in sight. It hurt. 

 

His back hit the wall and he slid down it, falling to the floor as he dialed Gabriel's number again. He knew, he  _ knew  _ the teacher who should be home from class wouldn't answer, but that didn't mean he didn't try. And try. And try. 

 

Tears fell down his face and he let the phone fall to the floor. He was pretty sure from the cracking sound it made as it hit the tile that the screen had broken, but that didn't matter. Nothing mattered. 

 

Sam tucked his legs against his chest and buried his face in his knees. He closed his eyes tightly, as though if he didn't look at the grey washed world around him he could pretend it wasn't there. 

 

He couldn't bear to look at a world without colors in it. 

 

A world without Gabriel in it. 


	2. Bright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hooray. This took a slightly different turn than expected, but here you go.

Sam was startled from his position by his phone ringing. His heart beat in his throat for the half a moment it took him to think rationally again. He sighed heavily, letting it ring a few times before finally deciding to reluctantly answer it. He kept his eyes closed as he blindly reached for his phone and (hopefully) his the answer button. He wanted to hold on to his last shred of deniability for as long as possible. He was fine, Gabriel was fine, he wasn’t being thrown into a dark and empty world for who knows why. His hands shook as he held the phone to his ear, and he had a sinking feeling who this call was from. 

 

“Hello, I’m calling from Memorial Medical Center. May I speak with Samuel Winchester?” 

 

Sam didn’t think he had any tears left, but apparently he was wrong. His already red rimmed eyes became wet once again, and he had to take a breath before answering. “Uh, I am. Sam Winchester, that is.” 

 

“I have you listed here as the emergency contact of Gabriel Winchester. Does that seem correct?” 

 

Sam nodded, squeezing his eyes tighter shut. He couldn’t look at the world, he couldn’t acknowledge it. Not without Gabriel. Gabriel  _ was  _ his world. Nothing mattered without him. Nothing. 

 

“Sir?” The woman asked, and Sam realized just how long he had fallen silent. She had asked him a question. 

 

“Yes, sorry. He’s my--my husband,” Sam half-whispered. It was hard to make the words come out past the lump in his throat. 

 

Husband should be listed as his relationship on file. Why the hell was this woman beating around the bush? Sam knew, obviously he knew. The moment the colors faded away he knew what it meant. He knew Gabriel was dead. 

 

Dead. 

 

The thought cut through him like a knife. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn't--

 

“Right. Gabriel was--”

 

“I know!” He cut her off. His voice broke and his face burned red, shameful. But he couldn't listen anymore. It wasn't her fault, he knew, and he felt guilty for taking his frustrations out on her. However, logic didn't help at all in this situation. Because it didn't make sense. How could Gabriel just be gone? He was fine this morning. Absolutely. He left for work this morning half an hour later than Sam had. Sam had even visited him at lunch. And then suddenly the colors were gone. There was only one explanation, no matter how impossible it seemed. 

 

“You do?” She seemed surprised. Sam was so tired of talking to her already. “Well, he's in the ICU currently, but he's stable enough that you can visit him if you'd like.” 

 

Stable?? Nonexistent vitals were certainly fucking stable, they weren't changing any time soon. 

 

Sam rolled his eyes in irritation, though the moment he (albeit accidentally) opened his eyes he kept them trained on the grey and white marbled tile in front of him. The floors were supposed to be grey in the first place. He knew he'd have to face the washed out walls decorated with sunflowers and black and white tea towels that Gabriel had insisted on even though they don’t drink tea and--

 

Was that a ketchup stain? 

 

There was a light reddish smudge on the tile nearby his foot, undoubtedly from Gabriel not cleaning up some sort of red condiment or something soon enough. Sam had told him over and over that these floors stained easily, and  _ red  _ especially would stain terribly. 

 

Red. 

 

Sam blinked. 

 

The weight in his stomach started to lift. 

 

His attention snapped upwards, his grip loosened on the phone and it slipped from his fingers, but he didn't care. 

 

The sunflowers shone a brilliant yellow gold and the refrigerator magnets were spots of blues and purples and browns and greens against the stainless steel. At a closer look, the grey tiles actually had a golden tint from the sunlight streaming in from the window. 

 

“ _ Sir _ ?” a muffled voice came through his phone. “Sir?”

 

Sam picked up the phone once again, breathing coming in short, quick, amazed gasps. 

 

“Sorry, I'm here. Just. Distracted. I'm here. When can I see him?” 

 

His heart was pounding and his eyes watered once again. Had he imagined it? There was no way. The colors were back and Gabriel was okay and--

 

“He just came out of surgery and is still unconscious, but as a family member you can still visit him in the ICU.” 

  
  
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's probably gonna be one more chapter of this that will happen at some point. Eventually. But here you go! It's not so painful after all! Hooray!


End file.
